Steering-gear for vehicles.



A. OTTBR.

STEERING GEAR FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 11, 1913.

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INVENTOR 610m 0239/" ATTORNEYS Patented A r. 14,1914;

A. 0TTER.. I STEERING GEAR FOR VEHICLES.

APPLIGATION FILED $21 111, 191s.

Patented Apr. 14, 1914.

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IHVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented A r.14, 1914.

ALOIS O'JLTER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

STEERING-GEAR non VEHICLES".

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 14. 1914:.

Application filed September 11, 1913. Serial No. 78ZL317 To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Arms Orrrnn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident "of the ,city' of- NewYork, Ridgewood, borough;

of Queens, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Steering-Gear for Vehicles, of which the following is a full, clear, and. exact description.

' .This inventi n relates to steering gears for vehicles, and has particular reference to means of this character for "use in connec-- tion with compound cycles or devices which are propelled by the riders or by motive power. I

More particularly stated the invention contemplates the employment of two bicycle constructions made or connected in parallel and with a single steering mechanism for the combined vehicle. I

'Another object of the invention is to increase the, stability and reliability of a vehicle of this character with respect to the steering mechanism. V

A still further object of the invention is to improve the means for connecting the main part of the frame with the steering head or. fork so that the rear wheels may have a certain amount of independent movement when, for instance, thevehicle is passing over' rough or uneven ground.-

The foregoing and other objects of the in vention will hereinafter be more fully described and ,claimed and illustrated in the drawings forming a part of this specification in which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the a line 66 of Fig. 7 and Fig. 7 is a detail in vertical section on the line 7,7of Fig. 2.

The several parts of the device may be made of any suitable materials, and from what has been stated above it will be understood that the general form or adaptation of the device may be varied to a considerable extent as, for instance, in the application thereof to automobiles or the'like, Without departing from thejspirit of the invention" hereinafter more fully l'set' forth and specifically claimed. i

In the preferred form of: the invention,

shown in Figs. 1 and 2, I provide a pair of frames 10 of any suitable nature, but preferabiy of the well known-diamond type of bicycles, each frame having a rear" fork 11,

a crank hanger 12, a wheel 13 andpropelling mechanism of well known construction indicated as a whole at 14. Those frames 10 and wheels 13 are adapted to support individual ride-rs uponseats 15, and except.- as noted below, there is no direct connection between them. The front endof each frame 10* is secured by means of a spring bar 16 to a steering head or frame 17. Said frame 17 includes a steering post 18 having connected thereto a handle bar 19 at each side thereof. A head 20 for each post '18 is rigidly c'onnectcd by cross bars 21 and 22h) the other head 20. Furthermore, a series ofbars 23 and 24- are provided. leading toward a pair of transverse parallel. bar: 25 and 2G. The front ends of the bars 94 are provided with forks'24 for supporting the front wheels and steering mechanism therefor. I provide preferably two .front'snpporting wheels 27.

" each of these wheels being journalcd upon a short. shaft 28 extending outwardly from a steering knuckle-'29. The front or lower ends of the bars 23 are connected to the steering. knuckle through slotted plates 30, the slot-30 of each of said. plates receiving the pivot bolt 31. of the knuckle 29. The thimblo or plate 30 constitutes a rigid per manent connection for the adjacent. ends of the bars 23, 24 and 25. Said pivot bolt 31 is provided with a pair of cones 32 having ball bearing connection with the knuckle 29 as shown in Fig. 7. The inner end 33 of each steering knuckle is connected by means of a link 34to a crank 35 leading inwardly from the lower end of the steering post 18, as shown especially in Fig. 2, wherein is shown the machine in normalposition in fulllines and in dot-ted lines is indicated the position in which the movable parts are placed during the steering operation. The steering knuckles aroiprovided with forwardly extending arms 36 connected by a distance bar 37 and likewise a pair of arms 38 extending rearwardly are connected by another bar, 37; The arms 36 and 38 and the distance bars 37 and 37' constitute a parallelogram serving to maintain the front wheels steering knuckles 29 as in the other case,

but the arms 33'- extending inwardly toward each other are connected by means of a pair of links 34 to a single steering mechanism shown at 35. The links 34' are crossed so as to produce an effect substantially-similar to the effect of the two cranks 35 extending toward each other from the individual steering posts 18 in the other form of the invention. The same distance bars 37 and 37 are preferably used in this form of the'invention also.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent a 1. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a rigid front frame, a pair of wheels supporting said frame, steering means for said wheels serving to maintain them in positive parallelism, a pair of independent rear frames connected at their front ends to said front frame, a spring plate serving to make the connection be tween each of said rear frames and the front frame, and rear supporting wheels journaled in said rear frames.

rear frames to the corresponding steering head aforesaid, whereby the rear frames may partake of independent movements in parallel vertical planes.

. 3. In a device'of the character setforth,

the combination ofza rigid"fr o'nt steering frame comprising vertical steering heads 20, transverse bars 21 and 22 connecting the same, forwardly extending braces 23 and 2a, transverse front bars 25 and 26, a pair of steering knuckles journaled on vertical axes to said braces, said knuckles having forwardl and rearwardly extending arms, distance bars connecting the respective arms of both knuckles and constituting therewith a parallelogram, a pair of rearwardly extending linksconnected to said knuckles, and steering mechanism journaled in said steering heads serving to control the operation of said links and knuckles, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALOIS OTTER. Witnesses:

Geo. L. BEELER, Geo. H. EMsnm.

iflopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gammissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

